I had left a post someplace, and can't find it. So I will start a fresh one. Maybe someone would consider it a sticky as this is very important.

One of the biggest factors in foodborne-illness outbreaks is time-temperature abuse. Disease-causing bacteria microorganisms grow and multiply at temperatures between 41 degrees F and 135 degrees F. Whenever food is held in the temperature danger range, it is being abused.

Common opportunities for time-temperature abuse throughout the flow of food include:
-- Not cooking food to its required minimum internal temperature
-- Not cooling food properly
-- Failing to reheat food to 165 degrees F for fifteen seconds within two hours
-- Failing to hold food at a minimum internal temperature of 135 defrees F or higher or 41 degrees F or lower

I have more on specific temps for different meats and will make more posts to this one. I want to keep them short so as to not loose interest.

If you don't do this, please consider it. When you prepare food, do you use the same cutting board and utensils for all your food? If so, STOP.

Use different cutting boards and utensils for each type of food. Example: one for poultry, a second for other meats, and a third for vegetables. Consider different colored boards and handles. If you don't, make sure you sanitize all your items before going to another type of food.

-- Failing to reheat food to 165 degrees F for fifteen seconds within two hours

Leatherneck, my wife explained it to me, the item in question, has to be held at a minimum temp of 140 degrees F. If it falls below that, it has to be reheated to 165 degrees F for 15 seconds (minimum) within the 2 hours.

I should have mentioned that she works for the school system cafeteria and had to attend a very intense training class this year. These are safey guidlines for serving food, but it is also great guidelines to use when cooking food for home use as well. As we all want to make safe food for everyone to enjoy.

Thanks for the great info. I got a warmer rack for foil pans to set pulled pork out in, so it stays hot. I have an Christmas party next month that will have quite a bit of it out.

Our cutting boards are all plastic. Whenever I use them for meat, they go in the dishwasher to be sanitized. I also throw the knives in. The wife is always worried about dulling them, but hey - I'm the one who sharpens them!

Use caution when placing food into a freezer. Warm food can raise the temperature inside the unit and partially thaw the food inside. Store food to allow good air circulation. Overloading a freezer makes it work harder, and make it harder to find and rotate food properly.